Hassan Damirchi, a Prominent Musician of Azerbaijani Origin, Subjected to Harassment – HRANA News Agency, an organ of the human rights activists of Iran, has reported that Hassan Damirchi (Hassan Harguli), a prominent musician of Azerbaijani origin, is being subjected to unfair pressure by security apparatus for having accepted a plaque of honor from the Government of Azerbaijan Republic.

About a month ago, in January 2015, Damirchi travelled to Azerbaijan Republic to take part in a musical event. However, two weeks after his arrival, he was held back for interrogation by security personnel in Tabriz; his passport was taken and he was told that he would be contacted by the authorities concerned in due course.
Last week, the Office of Intelligence Security (Ettelaat), located in Khayaban-i-Saeb in Tabriz City, called him twice and asked that he present himself for interrogation, and that he should surrender both plaques of honor—one he had recently received from the Government of Azerbaijan and the other which he had received earlier from the Government of Turkey. Damirchi protested to the unfair pressure and illegal interrogations exerted against him by the regime’s Intelligence Apparatus.
According to available information, this prominent musician has asked the security agency to prosecute him in accordance with the law and legal procedure, if he has indeed done something wrong. However, he considers the pressure he is presently undergoing as unfair, unjust, and unacceptable.

It may be recalled that in a similar case, Hassan Harguli, a 72 year old veteran musician of Azerbaijani origin, was accused of acting against the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran and was put in jail for six months. According to his lawyer, Naghi Mahmoudi, the Iranian Supreme Court has now exonerated him from the charge of opposing the IRI; but in spite of this, ever since he was arrested in 2007, his music institute (Amuzishgah-i-Museequiyy-i-Azerbaijan) remains closed, its license cancelled, and he is personally barred from performing.
Source: https://hra-news.org/fa/ethnic-minorities/damirchi
Iran Briefing | News Press Focus on Human Rights Violation by IRGC, Iran Human Rights